The present invention relates to radial bearings in general, and more particularly to improvements in radial plain bearings. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in so-called multiple-face radial plain bearings wherein the internal surface of the bearing shell that surrounds a rotating component includes several sections or faces having radii of curvature greater than the radius of the rotary component within the shell.
Multiple-face radial plain bearings of the above outlined type are disclosed, for example, in German Pat. No. 903,054 and in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 15 75 472. An advantage of such bearings is that they furnish a highly satisfactory hydrodynamic supporting action for the component which is surrounded by the internal surface of the bearing shell. A drawback of presently known multiple-face radial plain bearings is that they are prone to jamming as a result of thermally induced expansion, especially if the bearing clearance between the external surface of the rotating component and the internal surface of the bearing shell is very small. In order to reduce the likelihood of jamming, the aforementioned German Offenlegungsschrift No. 15 75 472 proposes to make that part of the shell which is immediately adjacent to its internal surface from a yieldable material. This is also intended to furnish a desirable vibration-damping action.